June 3, 2011
David S. Weaver
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
david.s.weaver@nasa.gov
Angela Storey
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256-714-4370
angela.d.storey@nasa.gov
Liz Klipp
Georgia Tech Media Relations, Atlanta
404-894-6016
liz.klipp@comm.gatech.edu
RELEASE: 11-176
NASA ADMINISTRATOR BOLDEN TO OPEN EXPLORATION SYMPOSIUM
WASHINGTON -- NASA and the Georgia Institute of Technology will review
the achievements of the agency's Space Shuttle Program and look ahead
to the future of space exploration during a symposium June 6-8.
Georgia Tech will host "The Space Shuttle: An Engineering Milestone"
at the university's Global Learning Center at 84 5th Street NW in
Atlanta. The event is open to media.
The symposium will bring together an international group of
scientists, technologists, engineers, mission designers, policymakers
and students to discuss the shuttle era's significant contributions
and exchange ideas about the future of space transportation.
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden will open the symposium on Tuesday,
June 7. Other speakers include agency personnel such as astronaut
Shannon Lucid; Bill Hill, assistant associate administrator for the
Space Shuttle Program; and Michael Gazarik, deputy chief
technologist.
"The Space Shuttle Program has accomplished many amazing things for
the entire world," Bolden said. "Not least of which is the
construction of the International Space Station, which will anchor
our human spaceflight activities for the coming decade. It will
provide unparalleled opportunities for critical research and
technology demonstrations that will help us reach destinations
farther in the solar system."
Speakers will highlight some of the many scientific discoveries about
Earth, the solar system and the universe enabled by the shuttle
program and how it has advanced technology and affected peoples'
lives across the globe.
"The space shuttle program is an engineering accomplishment no other
country has been able to duplicate," said Robert Loewy, conference
chair and Georgia Tech professor of aerospace engineering. "The
symposium is intended to honor those who contributed to the design,
construction, operation and scientific data-taking that the three
decades of the shuttle's operation have made possible."
The shuttle program has spanned 30 years of operation, and its last
flight will be the STS-135 mission targeted for a July 8 launch. The
five orbiters, Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis and
Endeavour, have flown more than 130 times, carrying more than 360
people into space and traveling more than 500 million miles. Designed
to return to Earth and land like a glider, the shuttle was the first
successful reusable space vehicle.
Registration is required to attend the conference. For the agenda and
registration information, visit:
http://www.regonline.com/builder/site/tab2.aspx?EventID=923094
The conference is sponsored by Georgia Tech's Daniel Guggenheim School
of Aerospace Engineering, with the co-sponsorship of NASA, the
Georgia Space Grant Consortium, the Boeing Company, and the American
Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
For more information about the space shuttle program, including an
interactive feature about the spacecraft and photo galleries, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/shuttleflyout
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